The invention relates to a carton or sleeve for accommodating one or more articles, for example, information discs or the like, formed from one or more blanks of paperboard or other suitable foldable sheet material and more particularly to a multi-sleeve booklet capable of being formed into a plurality of sealed compartments comprising one or more disc pockets (or sleeves)
An example of a multiple sleeve formed from one or more blanks may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,222 which illustrates a mailer for discs: the mailer having first and second pockets for receiving discs, each pocket formed of front and back rectangular panel members joined to at least one pair of corresponding edges and connected on at least one pair of corresponding edges. The pockets hingedly attached by a spine at an edge of each of said pockets and there is a sealing member for adhering the first pocket to the second pocket. The resulting multiple sleeve can be harder to handle because it opens out to a long carrier.
The present invention and its preferred embodiment seek to overcome or least mitigate the problems of the prior art.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a multi-sleeve booklet for holding flat objects such as compact discs or the like, which booklet comprises a plurality of sleeves joined in series and folded upon each other in an accordion fashion. Each sleeve has a front panel hingedly connected to a back panel. The front and back panels are secured in face-to-face contacting relationship by securing means. A spine panel is provided to form the spine of the booklet and to hingedly interconnect all the sleeves together. The spine panel is joined to one of the opposed outermost ones of the sleeves and secured to the other of the outermost sleeves.
According to an optional feature of this aspect of the invention, said plurality of sleeves may be folded in the accordion fashion such that each of the opposed outermost sleeves is connected to a next adjacent sleeve by a fold line along lower edges thereof. Each of the next adjacent sleeves may be connected to a next adjacent sleeve by a fold line along upper edges thereof.
According to another optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the sleeves are joined in series such that each of the opposed outermost sleeves is hingedly connected at its front panel to the front panel of a next adjacent sleeve, and each of the next adjacent sleeves is hingedly connected at its back panel to the back panel of a next adjacent sleeve.
According to another optional feature of this aspect of the invention, at least part of one of the front and back panels of at least one of the sleeves may be cut away to facilitate access to the contents of that sleeve.
According to yet another optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the spine panel may be formed from one of the sleeves adjacent to the one outermost sleeve.
According to a further optional feature of this aspect of the invention, the spine panel may be formed from the back panel of one of the sleeves adjacent to the one outermost sleeve and joined to the back panel of the one outermost sleeve.
According to a still further optional feature of this aspect of the invention, there further comprises an outer cover adapted to receive and retain the booklet in a closed condition.
A second aspect of the invention provides a blank for forming a multi-sleeve booklet for holding flat objects. The blank comprises a plurality of front panels positioned in series and hingedly connected to adjacent corresponding back panels. There is a sequence of parallel fold lines connecting in staggered sequence a pair of front panels then a pair of back panels. A spine panel for forming the spine of the booklet is joined to one of the endmost back panels and arranged to be secured to the opposite endmost back panel and securing means for connecting each front panel with the corresponding adjacent back panel.